


Saturday night's all right

by niennathegrey



Series: the short stuff [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Office, Bromance, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Meet-Cute, Soft Ben Solo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-12
Updated: 2020-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:21:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23119906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/niennathegrey/pseuds/niennathegrey
Summary: A cute girl, a shy boy, and a canny best friend — it’s a time-honored, tried-and-tested formula.(Or: Ben is awkward, Tai is a good wingman, and Rey is charmed.)
Relationships: Ben Solo & Tai, Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Series: the short stuff [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1658749
Comments: 47
Kudos: 167
Collections: Galactic Idiots Collection





	Saturday night's all right

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BensCalligraphySet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BensCalligraphySet/gifts).



> Thanks to Laura, Rexie and Maggie for their advice and their cheerleading! 
> 
> For [BensCalligraphySet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BensCalligraphySet/pseuds/BensCalligraphySet) / [galacticidiots](https://galacticidiots.tumblr.com/) on Tumblr; inspired by her post about reading fic in her car and the guy in the next car laughing at her reactions (I can’t find a link to it now, though). Hope you enjoy it, Fran!
> 
> And to everyone keeping up with TROKR spoilers, I hope this helps you feel a little bit better.

“Ben, you haven’t heard a word I’ve said, have you?”

“Huh?” Ben started guiltily. Tai arched an eyebrow, his face an interesting mix of annoyance and confusion. “Sorry— uh, you’re taking Voe to the office party, then?”

A half-muffled, feminine squeal sounded from somewhere behind Tai. Like iron to a magnet, Ben’s eyes honed in on the source of the sound, and the rest of his sentence petered out.

“Okay, seriously, man, that’s just rude. What’s the matter with you?” Tai swiveled in his chair. 

A few tables away, Rey Johnson sat alone. Her tray was still nearly full, but she was too engrossed in her book to do much more than take occasional, absent bites of her lunch. _Must be some book,_ Tai thought as Rey grinned and actually _bounced_ a little in her seat, oblivious to the odd stares of the office cafeteria.

Tai swiveled back and studied his best friend. Ben worked as hard and was as ambitious as anyone in the office, but he looked at Rey like seeing her across a crowded cafeteria was the true highlight of his day. She laughed, and— wow, yeah, Ben’s eyes actually lit up. He smiled, too — just a tiny quirking around the mouth; he probably didn’t even realize it. 

_Oh._ Tai’s own smile was decidedly less besotted. “Isn’t that Rey from Art and Design?”

“Y-yeah, I think so.” Tai knew, from long years of experience, that Ben’s ears were now tomato-red underneath his hair.

“She know you have a giant crush on her?”

Ben choked on air.

“Have you ever even talked to her at all?”

“What— I—”

Tai sighed. “Right.” He rose from the table and strode on over to Rey’s, ignoring Ben’s furious whisper-shouts of “Tai! _Tai_ , you bastard, get back here!”

* * *

“Hi— Rey, right? From Art and Design?”

Rey reluctantly turned her attention from a description of a very… intense held gaze between Kira and Kylo ( _bloody hell, let them KISS already, I’m dying over here!)_ , to the man standing by her table. He had his hands in his pockets and a friendly smile on his face. He looked vaguely familiar— what was his name again? “Yeah, hi, um… Tai, right? From HR?”

“That’s me.” He nodded at her book. “Big _Lost Stars_ fan, huh?”

“What— oh. Yeah.” Yes, let him think it was one of the show’s middling tie-in novels. (She wasn’t about to tell him it was an _epic_ 500,000-word Kiralo fanfic — complete with manipped cover, which was probably what had drawn his attention in the first place — Rose had had printed and bound for her birthday.) “Sorry, was I being too loud or something?” 

He shrugged. “Nah, it’s nice to see people enjoying things.”

Rey blinked. “Oh… well, good to know then.” A rather awkward silence ensued. “... So, are you a _Lost Stars_ fan too?”

"I’m a casual fan, I guess you’d say. My friend Ben over there, though” — he tilted his head in, presumably, Ben’s direction — “ _loves_ it.” He paused. Then, in the slow and bright tones of someone who’d just had a brilliant idea, he said, “Actually, the two of you should probably hang out and talk about it sometime. I think he’s tired of not having anyone to really geek out about it with.” 

Rey looked in the direction he’d indicated. There, a few tables away, sat Ben Solo. He was one of the most respected (and most feared) editors at Skywalker Publishing, but right now, he... 

Well, frankly, he looked like a deer in headlights. Rey watched, bewildered, as he raised his hand in a weak sort of wave and slumped back in his seat.

She looked at Tai (watching the scene with an air of polite interest, belied by the slightly manic twinkle in his eye), and then back at Ben. There was something ridiculous and charming about the way he (an actual giant, it must be said, _how much time must he spend at the gym_ ) tried to make himself as small and unobtrusive as possible.

She couldn’t help it. Rey laughed, her eyes and nose crinkling with it.

Ben’s shoulders hunched further, nearly touching his ears.

 _Oh, the poor man._ Still smiling, Rey shook her head. “I’ll think about it, all right? I’ve gotta run or I’ll be late for a meeting.” She stuffed her book into her bag and stood up, swiping her barely-touched muffin and coffee from her tray. “See you around.” 

Tai nodded as she passed. “Have a good one, Rey.”

On her way out, Rey stopped by Ben’s table and glanced at him. He was shredding his napkin into confetti, little snowdrifts of recycled paper fluttering around his big hands. He was studiously not looking at her, but even from this angle she could see the impressive blush on his face. “‘Bye, Ben.”

He jumped, looking up at her with wide eyes. “‘Er— ‘bye, Rey,” he stammered, more like a flustered schoolboy than a ruthless editor. 

Oh, the duality of man.

She smiled her sweetest _don’t worry-I-don’t-bite_ smile, gave him a small nod, and exited the cafeteria. There was a definite bounce in her step; and Rey basked, for a moment, in the wonder and thrill of a new discovery: that someone as reserved and as whip-smart as Ben Solo was… cute, actually.

 _Very_ cute.

* * *

“You absolute _asshole_.” Ben sounded like he was about to start either yelling or crying. Or both. “Now Rey’s gonna think I’m a total creep, and never speak to me again, and—” 

“Will you relax?” Tai, on the other hand, sounded far too pleased with himself. “She wasn’t laughing at you.”

“She _was_.”

“... Yeah, okay, she was. But!” He raised his voice over the sound of Ben’s forehead thunking onto the table, and the beleaguered groan that followed. “It wasn’t a _mean_ laugh. And hey, she said she’d think about it! Positive thinking, man!”

Ben turned his head just enough that he could see Tai without having to raise it from the table. “... What’d you say to her?”

“‘Excuse me, but my friend Ben over there is literally struck dumb by your beauty. Could you please talk to him so he can stop mooning and talk sense again?’”

Now Ben jerked upright, horrified. “You _didn’t_ —” He saw Tai, fit to bust a gut from the effort of holding his laughter in, and raised a hand to his face. “ _Asshole_ ,” he repeated into his palm, with a profound depth of feeling. 

* * *

From: rey_johnson@skywalkerpub.com

To: ben_o_solo@skywalkerpub.com

March 11, 2020 4:09 PM

Subject: meeting request

Dear Ben,

Attached are three mockups for the cover of _The Dragon’s Teeth._ As always, please choose one and let me know if there are any changes to be made. 

Thanks!

Rey Johnson

Book Designer

Skywalker Publishing, Inc.

PS: What did you think of the last LS episode? All my friends seem to think Kylo should stay in the Imperium and try to reform it from the inside out — or else be a mole and feed the League intel. I feel like I’m the only one who wants him to defect from the Imperium ASAP (maybe with Kira’s help?). I’d love to hear your take — maybe over coffee on Saturday? You’ve always had a good eye for stories.

— — — 

From: ben_o_solo@skywalkerpub.com

To: rey_johnson@skywalkerpub.com

March 11, 2020 4:14 PM 

Subject: meeting request

Dear Rey, 

I like the second one best. The red really stands out against the silver and gray. Wonderful work, as always. 

Benjamin Organa Solo

Editor

Skywalker Publishing, Inc.

PS: The former makes for a more interesting and complex plot. However, the latter would better capitalize on the emotional depth that Kylo’s shown thus far, and that the audience is already invested in. 

  
— I could go on like this, but I’d rather debate our _Lost Stars_ opinions in person (and not make you suffer through a wall of text in your inbox. Any more than I already have, I mean). Saturday night’s all right.

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr: [niennathegrey](https://niennathegrey.tumblr.com/)


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